Porting: Why do people hate them?

[AMraider]

I have the Sig P365 SAS with ports. It is loud but I have not shot a regular one to compare it to. Same with muzzle flip. In low light I don't really notice the flash. It has that bullseye sight so it does not get dirty after the 50 to 100 rounds I run through per session. Very natural pointing EDC for me.

 

[Pat Riot]

I don't like startling noises myself and I can see how porting would just exacerbate that.

Irony...in a shooting forum.

 

[hemiram]

I nearly bought a friend's Magna Ported 686, but passed on it, and didn't really regret it. The first ported gun I ever shot was a Dan Wesson 44 soon after they came out and while it did seem to keep the muzzle down a bit, the owner said the ports were a hassle to clean so when I bought my 44 about 10 years ago, I passed up several ported barreled ones to buy mine.

 

[Hal]

I would like to thank everyone in this thread for their input.

I was undecided on getting my S&W M69 snub ported.
Thanks to this thread, I decided not to have it done.
Who knows, maybe in 100 years an "As Original" S&W M69 snub may be in some sort of demand & my great-grandkids can make a few bucks off selling it. .

 

[Antihero]

I've fired a few ported guns, it really helps on heavier loads. I've fired a lighter 44 mag snubby that recoils less than a heavy Redhawk with the same loads

Also people that say it doesn't effect recoil and all it does is sending blinding gases at the front sight.....it can't be both. If gases are firing upwards, then recoil/muzzle rise is reduced as it's physics. I can definitely say that recoil to a lot of people is noise and muzzle blast, these are the people that say that the porting does nothing because that's what they associate with recoil not the actual....well..... recoil.

 

[jmorris]

Ported/compensated pistols and rifles have properties I like and dislike. The recoil/muzzle rise mitigation is great, the added blast is a negative side effect.

For game/fun guns I don’t mind the extra noise, even if others do.



Zero of my carry guns are ported or compensated.

 

[Oldschool shooter]

I have a PC Shield in 40 Cal. Got it for a ridiculously low price. It is louder than my unported SD40VE, but I don't fond it terrible. Out of a short barrelled pistol, muzzle flash will always be an issue in low light conditions. I don't feel that the ported pistol is noticeably worse in the 2 areas most complain about.

 

[WestKentucky]

Ported guns have their place for sure, but porting is not always done well. Porting serves to mitigate muzzle flip and by doing so it makes the recoil impulse far less notable, at least it does so when it’s done properly. The drawbacks are notable, and hire visible at times. Worse, they are audible most of the time. Having shot at a public range with 2 44s side by side, similar guns and similar scenarios. But the porting was obnoxious. It was even worse when I moved to a covered station and let the ported 44 sing

 

[BWS]

My avatar commander is ported and I LOVE it!

It's setup as a baby BE gun,sprung accordingly and ported, it's like shooting a BB gun. 185's @700 fps. and it shoots about as "flat" as can be accomplished on a 1911. Amazing gun.

I shoot a lot of 700X(got butt loads of this powder),with traditionally lubed cast and cleaning is pretty,no big deal. Rarely do anything to the inside of the port itself,have never seen any lead in it? The OD of the barrel gets more fouling on it than a non ported 1911 but it wipes off with one swipe. I do run these guns a little "wet" though. Mobile 1 is about all I use,just like to keep the funk,in solution vs letting them run "dry".

 

[SW351C]

I’ve had 4 guns that were ported over the last 48 years, 3 Ruger Blackhawks chambered in 44,41,and 357 mag and 1 S&W 642. The Rugers were all Magnaported and never made any impression on me as being worth it. The 642 was ported by Gemini Customs with their 3 large hole ports down the upper center of the barrel in a row. I must say this really made a difference in felt recoil and speed back on target. Oh did I mention it was loud as hell? I let my buddies wife who had a stock 642 shoot it and you know the rest of the story. That woman has talked me out of 3 guns. She never wanted a gun like mine, it was always that gun.

 

[Paul7]

I was on GlockTalk and there was a comparison between the standard Shield and the ported Shield Performance Center (PC) model. Seems that I'm the only one who had no issue with the ported barrel whereas even other members who purchased the PC Shield stated they would rather have it without the ports.

Are people just going off how the internet told them they should feel about ported barrels?

Hope you're saving up for hearing aids.

 

[Antihero]

The sound complaint is funny to me.....there isn't extra gas and sound coming out of it because of porting. It's also at the end of the barrel so it's not like an extra quarter inch away makes a difference.

It's the same level of sound and gases ported or non ported, it's the same cartridge. At most it's more directed upward but it's not a super directional noise anyway

 

[tubeshooter]

For me it is not a sound thing, although I dislike any more noise than necessary.

I just feel that anything that might cause a gun to spit any debris back towards the shooter, however small that chance might be, is something I want to avoid.


It is not to say that I would never buy a ported gun. But for me, that is huge. It's only going to take a couple grains of lead or a sliver of jacket to possibly blind an eye forever. Simply not worth it to me. YMMV as always.

 

[PzGren]

I have done some testing with a Glock 34 with a ported barrel versus the same gun with stock unported barrel by letting three very experienced shooters shoot both versions against the timer. In 10 strings of ten shots for each shooter the results were 20% faster times with the same hits.

I have also done some tests that debunked the internet lore of injuries from muzzle blasts directed back at the shooter, the blast at six to eight inches over the porting did not rip thin cardboard and the impact of the gasses were similiar to the muzzle blast a little forward of the stock barrel.

Muzzle flash can best be countered by using a powder with flash suppressants and using the rails on the pistol to mount a light. That will also help to see something, or rather anything, if the opponent decides to shine a light at YOU.

 

[buck460XVR]

I love those "I'm a real man so I do not need porting, but ohhh, the noise hurts my tender wittle ears!" posts.......

...unless a handgun is suppressed or powered by air, it is going to be too loud to shoot regularly without ear protection. While there are some good porting jobs out there, there are also some that are a complete waste of effort and do indeed do more harm than good. Gonna be haters out there regardless of what we talk about on this forum. If it works for you, good. If it doesn't, don't bother with it, but regardless of which side you are on, there's no reason to trash the other side. If it's a gun, it's a good thing, ports or no ports.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I'm a crusty old Infantryman and set in my ways. In my opinion, a gun barrel should have one hole, and that hole should run from the breech to the muzzle. If a gun needs more than one hole, I don't need that gun.

 

[orionengnr]

Love how the OP frames the argument as "why do you hate?"
Typical straw man argument.

I don't hate anything.

However, I also don't have any time for certain things.

Having tried them, porting (in either revolvers or pistols) is one of those.

Readily apparent downsides and no apparent benefit...pretty simple conclusion (for me).

YMMV

God luck....

 

[CraigC]

My aversion to porting long predates the internet but it also relates to big bore revolvers, not autos. Porting increases muzzle blast and noise. It does not reduce recoil, it reduces muzzle flip by redirecting recoil straight back into the palm. It also makes your front sight filthy, exponentially worse with the cast bullets that comprise 95% of my shooting. The only way I would ever own a ported handgun is if it is long enough to have it chopped off and too cheap to pass up.

In the irony department, my favorite AR at present is a 10.5" so let us not try to apply logic here.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

Porting needs to be done properly with the ports at the correct diameter and positioned to where they do their best. If ports are positioned all around the periphery of the muzzle end of the barrel, what's the advantage? If the ports are too large, they do nothing to "jet" the expanding gas upward and counteract muzzle flip.
If ports are positioned at top-dead-center of the barrel, and then, at 45°s to each side, then, the gas venting process is advantageous, even with a .22 rimfire, as there is still enough gas to take advantage of. That's undeniable from what I've found:

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Cuz loud

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

Say WHAT????

 

[dogtown tom]

Hope you're saving up for hearing aids.

FYI unported guns cause hearing damage.

 

[Armored farmer]

The only ported revolver I ever owned 686-4 from the S&W Performance Center.
I also had a Glock17c. Both are gone to new owners. I'm not going to say I disliked either but 9mm isn't all that hard recoiling and too much velocity is lost in 357MAG. I'll stick to the 681 (middle) for 357MAG shooting.

What model is the top 5shot s&w?

 

[buck460XVR]

FYI unported guns cause hearing damage.

This is something most folks don't want to admit. Yet, the recent surge of suppressed guns tells us that not only is shooting any gun without protection annoying, it also is a threat to our ears.....period. Last February, my youngest son and I went out to burn up the last of my 50 bird package at the local game farm. Nasty weather and deep snow had made for us waiting so long to use them before the end of the year. 15 birds later(a dozen of my own and 3 "leftovers) and later, while at the cleaning house my son says...."my ears are a little fuzzy". He probably shot 20 times(me maybe 10) from his 12ga. SxS with heavy 2 3/4s. Odds are he will have some form of permanent damage down the road. Just like all of us born in the 50s and 60s and grew up with guns. I remember my dad was legally deaf from the war, he claimed it was from the artillery they endured on the boats while waiting to land on the beach. Still, for him to use ear protection at the range was like asking him to wear a dress. So it was with his kids. Hard thing to do, wear ear protection while hunting. But I have learned to do it since I hunt with revolvers only now during the gun deer season. This year my grand-daughter sat with me in the blind and used my 77/44 to tale her first deer. She was wearing my back-up pair of Walker's electronic muffs. Since she has always used muffs of some kind while shooting, it didn't bother her at all. Last week my youngest wore them while we had our first visit to the local game farm........didn't bother him at all. Later in the cleaning house he says......" I need to get a pair of these". He will next week for his birthday. While ported guns do produce more noise for the shooter, the increase does not make them significantly harder on our ears than non-ported, especially when it comes to handguns. If a ported handgun is easier for you to shoot, or just adds to your confidence with the firearm. go for it. But not using ear protection whenever shooting any handgun, regardless of caliber/platform/scenario, is just beggin' for hearing aids in the future.

 

[Antihero]

Maybe porting makes more noise in an enclosed building, and that's a big maybe. Maybe the reflection does it but also I could see comb filtering happening as well

Porting doesn't cause extra powder to be in the round, it's exactly the same amount of blast and a gun shot is not directional.